Paris To Rebuild Lost Tuileries Palace Burned During Rule of Paris Commune

PARIS — The destroyed Tuileries Palace, once home to French kings and emperors, could be rebuilt after the French government formed a commission of eminent historians and politicians to draw plans for its restoration.

If approved, the $380 million construction project — between the Louvre museum and the Place de la Concorde — would create a replica of the palace as it appeared before it was torched by members of the Paris Commune in 1871.

The Palais des Tuileries was built for Catherine de Medici in 1564.It was gradually extended over three centuries until it spanned 300 yards to link the north and south wings of the Louvre museum.

By the mid-19th century, the walls of this vast complex enclosed a square where today the Louvre pyramid stands. But only a few years after its completion under Napoleon III, the palace was reduced to a burned-out stone shell, when it was torched during the fall of the Paris Commune. The ruins were knocked down 12 years later.

"When you say Louvre, everyone says ‘museum.' When you say Tuileries, everyone says ‘gardens,'" the president of the National Committee for the reconstruction of the Tuileries, Alain Boumier said. "We want to bring the two back together as originally intended."

He has the backing of several eminent architects, such as the president of the Academy of Beaux-Arts, Roger Taillibert. They point out that the rebuilt palace facade would restore harmony to the grand perspective down the Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe, which at present is out of kilter with the Louvre pyramid.

The reconstruction task would be made all the easier as the 10-foot foundations still stand and detailed architectural plans have survived. Most of the furniture and artworks that graced the interior under Napoleon III are also intact.

President Chirac has called for a debate on the subject but is not the first president to show an interest in the palace. Charles de Gaulle wanted it rebuilt, saying that restoring it would "make a jewel of the center of Paris."

The difference this time, Mr. Boumier insisted, was that the reconstruction would not cost the taxpayer anything. The project would rely instead on private donations.

"All we need from the state is its goahead to lease the land, and we can begin," he said.

If the palace is rebuilt, Mr. Boumier said some of the space could be used to exhibit the Louvre's stored works, along with a museum on the Tuileries, a conference center, and even Foreign Ministry offices. The enclosed square could once again become a venue for the Paris Opera and Comedie Francaise.

Mr. Boumier expects the administrative details to be ironed out within three years and construction to take another four. He said: "I have reasonable hope that it will be completed within a decade."